Stalking

Thurrock Council is committed to the safety and well-being of our residents through a dedicated Building Safety Team responsible for managing our residential buildings. 

Following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the Government launched an independent review of building regulations and fire safety. This led to stronger regulations for high-risk residential buildings specifically those over 18 metres in height or with seven or more storeys. 

As a result, the Building Safety Act 2022 was introduced, incorporating key recommendations from the review to improve safety standards. 

This page provides information about Thurrock Council’s high-risk residential buildings, in line with the requirements set out in the Building Safety Act.  

What our Building Safety Team cover

The actions below are all designed to make sure you are safe and feel safe in your homes. If you have any concerns or would like any further information, please feel free to get in touch. 

• we do checks of all our high-rise residential buildings once a month. We check items such as fire doors, escape routes, emergency lighting and escape signage. If anything is out of place, we arrange for it to be fixed 

• we are carrying out building safety audits to help us establish if buildings have any defects or safety risks 

• we have created a Building Safety Policy to help us achieve our legislative requirements under the Building Safety Act 

• we held a joint training exercise with the Essex Fire Brigade to test our emergency arrangements 

• we are talking to residents who want to train to be ‘Building Safety Champions’ 

• we are working on specific resident engagement plans for each building 

• we are holding ‘Meet your Building Safety Manager’ sessions 

A list of relevant people and contact details is available at the bottom of this page 

Tenants and leaseholders living in high-rise buildings 

If you live in a high-rise building, it is important to know about the new safety requirements introduced by the Building Safety Act  

A high-risk building is defined as being 18 metres or more in height or having 7 or more storeys and containing at least 2 flats. 

Under this act, landlords have new responsibilities, including: 

• registering and certifying each high-risk building and producing a building safety case report which combines all safety information specific to that building and plans to mitigate risks 

• creating and implementing a resident engagement strategy for each high-risk building 

• establishing a system to investigate building safety complaints from tenants, leaseholders, and household members 

Thurrock Council is responsible for 12 High-Rise Residential Buildings (HRBs), each meeting the criteria of either being over 18 metres in height or having 7 or more storeys. These buildings are located across Grays, Tilbury, and Chadwell St Mary, and range between 13 to 15 floors (excluding ground). Collectively, they contain a total of 813 flats. 

These HRBs are subject to enhanced safety measures in line with the Building Safety Act 2022. 

Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) 

Under the Building Safety Act 2022, certain serious incidents that may impact the safety of a high-rise residential building must be reported to the Building Safety Regulator. These incidents are known as Mandatory Occurrences. 

A Mandatory Occurrence is any significant incidents or risks that could cause death, serious injury, or permanent disability to a significant number of people. Examples include: 

• Faulty or defective building work which can cause fire spread in the building 

• failure of fire safety systems like fire alarm, Dry risers, Automatic opening Vent system 

• damage to the building's structure or defects 

• fire or smoke spread on multiple floors 

• structural defects 

The Building Safety Manager is legally required to report these events promptly to help manage risks and keep residents safe. 

If you live in or visit one of our high-rise buildings and notice anything that could compromise building safety, please contact our Building Safety Team as soon as possible. 

Call: 01375 652343  or Email: buildingsafetymgr@thurrock.gov.uk

Information on Fire Safety [link]

Resident’s responsibilities: 

As a resident, including leaseholders, you have a vital role to play in ensuring fire safety within your home. This responsibility includes making sure your flat entrance fire door complies with building regulation standards, having a working smoke alarm installed and tested regularly, and arranging gas safety inspections for any gas appliances fitted in your property. Thurrock Council’s high-rise buildings over 18 metres (Tower Blocks) in height do not have gas supplied. 

Resident Responsibilities – Building Safety Act 2022: If you live in a high-rise building, you have a role to play in keeping your home and neighbours safe. You must: 

• Keep flat entrance doors in good condition, including self-closing mechanisms, to maintain fire compartmentation. 

• Avoid tampering with fire safety systems such as smoke detectors, fire alarms, or sprinklers. 

• Report any safety concerns or faults (e.g. damaged fire doors, alarms not working) to the landlord or responsible person. 

• Allow reasonable access for inspections, maintenance, or safety works when required. 

• Comply with building safety guidance, including evacuation procedures and fire safety instructions for the block. 

Go to Residents and owners of residential units: actions to keep your building safe (GOV.UK) for guidance on how residents in high-rise residential buildings should avoid increasing or creating building safety risks and what to expect from accountable persons. 

Fire doors 

As a council tenant, if you have concerns about the condition of your flat entrance fire door and require repair, please contact the Housing Repairs team directly by calling 0800 074 0169 or email: repairs@thurrock.gov.uk 

It is your responsibility as a leaseholder to ensure your flat entrance fire doors are maintained to a standard which meets building regulation requirements. 

If you are unsure if your fire door meets this standard, you can perform this 5 step check  or contact a qualified fire door inspector to check your doors. . 

In addition, you can ensure further fire safety by: 

• never propping open a fire door 

• reporting any doors in your block that look like they may not meet the required standard by Housing repair line.  

• implementing a maintenance schedule and checklist for your doors 

Guidance for flat door self-closers:  [WILL LINK TO PDF]

Other things you can do to protect yourself against fire: 

• prepare your household for emergencies  

• test your smoke alarm monthly 

• do not store personal items in communal areas, read our policy on communal fire loading for more information. 

Things to avoid 

Please make sure you do not: 

• obstruct any secondary means-of-escape route 

• install additional locks or chains to either your front door or secondary means-of-escape door as they could prevent you escaping a fire 

• make any alterations to your home without our written permission. You could affect the fire safety precautions within your home 

• tamper with or vandalise any fire precautions, such as fire doors in communal areas 

You can find out more information about fire safety in your home in the following leaflets: 

• practical advice on how to prevent fires in your home 

• further information on health and safety is included in your Tenancy and leaseholder pack 

Fire Door Inspections 

Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, Thurrock Council is required to carry out regular inspections of fire doors in high-rise residential buildings (11m+) to help keep residents safe. 

As part of these safety duties, we may need access to your flat to inspect your flat entrance fire door. These doors play a vital role in preventing the spread of smoke and fire. Residents are legally required to provide reasonable access for these inspections. We will always give prior notice and aim to minimise disruption. 

• Communal fire doors, such as those in corridors, stairwells, and lobbies, are inspected every three months to ensure they are in good working order and close properly. 

• Flat entrance fire doors are inspected at least once a year to ensure they are fire-resistant, undamaged, and fitted with a working self-closing device. 

Resident Engagement

Our main focus is on ensuring the well-being of our residents, placing you at the centre of our efforts. Our Building Safety Resident Engagement Strategy details how we will keep you updated on safety procedures and ensure you can easily share any concerns with us.

Strategy Objectives

Our Resident Engagement Strategy is designed to help residents:

Resident Feedback

The Resident Engagement Strategy is a dynamic document that we will continuously assess and refine based on your feedback. We value your input on the strategy to ensure its clarity and identify any areas for enhancement.

Please share your thoughts with our dedicated Building Safety Team at buildingsafetymgr@thurrock.gov.uk

Additionally, we are reaching out to residents in all high-rise buildings to better understand your needs and collaborate with you in developing customised building information packs for your building.

 Building safety Information Packs 

An essential part of our approach is the development of customised building safety information packs for each of our high-rise buildings, ensuring residents receive detailed information about their particular blocks. 

Please keep checking this webpage for updates and revisions on any of the buildings listed. 

Safety information booklet 

Our ‘Fire safety Advice for Thurrock Tenants and Leaseholders’ information booklet (PDF) will give you some simple steps on how to keep safe and help to reduce the risk of fire in your home. You should also familiarise yourself with the exit routes for your property, and whether the policy is to 'Stay Put' or 'Evacuate'. Please download and share with everyone you live with. 

[LINK TO PDF]

Join our Building Safety Resident Panel

Are you interested in contributing to our efforts on building safety?

Our resident panel for building safety invites residents from our high-rise buildings to gather and share their thoughts on safety issues.

If you'd like to join us, please email us using the contact details below. 

If you have any queries, contact us on;

Relevant Persons List